@Luvmykids08 sent you a PM. You should receive it through your email.
I just wanted to chime in regarding deposit refunds. Last year My D committed to Syracuse BFA MT in April. We sent in our deposit in April as well. My D ended up deciding to attend a different BFA MT program in May. Syracuse told us that as long as we gave them notice by June 1, we would receive a FULL refund - they could not have been nicer, and were indeed true to their word. So please DO NOT let the fear of losing a deposit deter you from making a good decision. Check with the University and see what their policy states. Wishing everyone the absolute best!!
I too, have been lurking and not posting much on this forum. Last night we had the first tears of joy as our D got a Yes from BoCo. Honestly, we were in shock!!! Not because she isn’t talented, but she had had 14 No’s in a row. She did get a yes early on from LIU-Post, which we are also very grateful for. LIU was a walk-in audition at NY Unifieds and I kinda just made her do it because she had extra time. I’m glad I did…although she came out of their dance call laughing because it was mostly hip/hop and she said I just doesn’t “move” like that! HAHA! 
Anyway, D had applied at about 15 schools, passing only 2of 5 pre-screens. The rest of the schools did not have pre-screens. Every single scheduled audition school was a NO. BoCo was the last one for us to hear from. I do have to say, D sent in about 5 video auditions last week as an effort to get a few more choices. We have not heard from those schools yet. The schools that were still taking video auditions as of last week were Belmont, Lipscomb, Ohio Northern, UAB and Nebraska Wesleyan. This has been a tough road, and I feel for all of you going through this process that had so many No’s…it has been agonizing. BoCO is her dream school. The one she never thought she would get into…I am very thankful for that Yes…Now to find the money to be able to send her there. We are middle income, never offered financial aid…praying we can figure out a way to send her to her dream school!
My D is a very happy (and working hard!) freshman MT major at BoCo if anyone has any questions about the program. I’d also like to add that I have been checking in periodically and think that while it sure felt rough to those of us who went through this process last year, I have to admit that reading the posts this year has made me feel like our entire family won the lottery all over again. Why does it have to be so hard and painful? To those of you who are still waiting to hear from schools, first response or WL, we are all thinking of you! I, too, know plenty of people who have found joy and fulfillment (and even financial sustenance) in the performing arts without any degree at all. There are many places and ways to learn, and the arts just aren’t about formal schooling in the way medicine and law and engineering are. The more I observe my D growing as an artist the more I see that it is in community and the exchange of ideas more broadly that she is developing the most.
Does anyone know how hard it is to get off NYU Tisch’s waiting list?!?!
@actingmommy88 once the sticker shock of NYU sets in, there is usually quite a bit of waitlist movement. Good luck!
This site has been extremely helpful for my D and I over the last few weeks. We should have been on here a year ago, alas, here we are. I have a question. She applied for all MT programs and got accepted to one small MT program. She also got redirected to WL for Syracuse Acting. IF she comes off the waitlist, how do we make a decision between small MT vs Syracuse Acting???
@Wickersham2365, thank you! We are road tripping today - and formulating a lisf of questions. I hope you don’t mind! I’ll try to get it to you ASAP!
Thank you for the kind PM!
@Luvmykids08 - if it were me and particularly since you are down to two great options, I would make my S re-visit both. When the chips are down (and there will be a day that he isn’t happy about something no matter which school he picks), you will be glad that you required him to be careful in making the decision.
@MomofJ5 , this is great advice. Thank you
@theaterlove3 - it depends on what the small MT program is. Syracuse Acting is a fantastic program. Some things to compare between your choices - cost, location, size of school, curriculum. And have you visited? Some schools just suit certain personalities. For example, our D was put off by the Syracuse folks at Unifieds, but she has friends that went there that loved it. It just wasn’t right for her. But it no doubt is top notch training. If you haven’t visited, and can swing it , I would check out both campuses and see which feels best to your D. Best wishes on the WL!
@bisouu she did a walk in audition at the NYC unifieds. She will contact them on Monday if there is still no word. They were waiting for her ACT scores, but she was told about 2 weeks ago that they now had everything.
@Trish0118 D graduated in 2917, so this is the gap year - which wasn’t intentional but had to happen because we weren’t prepared for the audition/application process. There is just too much we still didn’t know and weren’t prepared for when we did get into it. Advice was scarce. We have better information now, but poor D is just feeling so discouraged and like she’s wasting time and not living.
@owensfolks if my D did not apply for financial aid does she have a better chance? Also do you have any idea how many people are put on the waitlist?
@K&Tmom For some reason I don’t seem able to tag you, but I think you will see this comment.
Our story was pretty similar last year. My D had a few acceptances, including one she was particularly grateful for, which she had slipped in toward the end of the audition season, then a LONG stretch of Nos, until yes from BoCo that last day of March. It was her first choice from the very beginning because she had attended their summer dance program and fell in love, but we, too, were happily surprised when it came through. She is really thriving there and feels surrounded by talented, hard-working artists. The program is large, but they split the students into cores, which have about 12 kids in them, and they change the cores every year. The training is truly triple threat, and one thing my daughter really loves is the level of ability among the male dancers. (She grew up dancing and boys were alway in high demand!) Unfortunately, BoCo is an extremely expensive school in a pricey area of a pricey city. I know that since the merger with Berklee they are working on improving their scholarship money, but as a small conservatory, they just don’t have the deep pockets that other institutions do. HOWEVER, there is a way to submit a reconsideration of your aid/scholarship money. We did it last year, and my daughter’s scholarship did go up, and every bit helps! I think if you go on the website you should be able to find information on the process and the deadline, but if not, call the financial aid office and ask about their appeal process. Good luck! And hope to see you in the fall. My daughter is going to be an Orientation Leader and (eek!) a sophomore.
Just when I thought D wasn’t going to hear from Millikin, we get a letter today saying she was accepted into their BA Theatre program. That was the final one to hear back from and I’m glad we ended this phase on a happy note after all…
@vvnstar we have visited both and could visit both again. They are both equally affordable. The small school is in a small town which has become less interesting for my D. The con of the WL Syracuse opportunity is that it is acting. She was really hoping to spend college getting more dancing in because it is not her strength. Maybe that’s the reason she didn’t get into other MT programs. I guess we just need to visit again to ask questions and absorb the atmosphere. I would love to know of anyone who wanted MT and got redirected to an acting program and their experience in the program without singing and dancing in college courses.
My D is a freshman MT at Hartt. I would be happy to answer any questions. Feel free to PM me.
@vvnstar the small MT program is SUNY Fredonia. She has friends there who have started out very unhappy and then find that they enjoy the program. It is in a small town. The fictional program she would like to attend is one that accepts her for MT in an urban setting. She wants to dance every day in college to be able to go to dance auditions for MT when she graduates.
@theaterlove3 here are some things you can do help with a decision:
- First, prepare a list of questions and ask them of students or parents on cc (based on what is important to your student or concerns)…you can usually search here and find students /Parents of each school and then message them. Survey both freshman and upper classmen to see if you get consistent answers.
- Also, read the bios of the faculty and see how well their interests/professional history match your student’s interest.
- Compare curriculum focus.
- Find out about performance opportunities and alumni track record for that major.
5)Lastly, look up instructors on ratemyprofessor website to learn more about teacher’s styles.
We used all of the above techniques to narrow my D’s list.